Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

player with 'best' sound quality.

Dec 28, 2010 8:17PM PST

hi.

i realize that 'best' is subjective, however i imagine that some mp3 players have the reputation as having excellent SQ.

i'm only interested in listening to music with this player, not bothered with the video feature at all.

i'll be listening to pop and classic hard rock, and audiobooks.

i want it to have a lot of bass.

flash drive.

doesn't have to be big,4gb is fine.

presently i have the sansa clip+ and that sound ok. it is considered to have great SQ, but i'd like something better if possible.

thank you.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
I would say;
Dec 29, 2010 1:57AM PST

start with the "best" pair of earphone (don't know which one, hehe), but it will go a long way if you don't already have one of those. Also mp3 might not be the best format to use. So try FLAC, AAC, WMA-lossless, WAV, etc. So besure the next player have those formats supported.

- Collapse -
I hear you;
Dec 29, 2010 2:12AM PST

I've heard such requests before and the earphones (stereo?) or head set makes more difference than I can shout about here.

I think I have 6 sets of earphones, headsets and bluetooth earpieces and at least one stereo bluetooth a2dp headset.

Not only is there fidelity changes in each set but each one is for the task at hand. For in the car, the usual bluetooth earpiece and in the gym either a Cnet earphone (yes it has Cnet emblazoned on the plastic) or some headset from a flight last year. During a flight I have some Sony noise cancelling headset and after that I'm not so sure what I have.
Bob

- Collapse -
GETa Zune
Dec 29, 2010 4:28AM PST

get a new zune

- Collapse -
my current earphones.
Dec 29, 2010 3:54PM PST

my current IEMs are the creative 830s. i know they're not considered to be that great, however i've a pair sennheisers and the creative is leaps and bounds ahead.
still i'm happy to get some better earphones, so i'll appreciate any suggestions.

- Collapse -
I've never used an IPOD tell me about this
Dec 29, 2010 4:14PM PST

I've never used an IPOD or the like in my life. However, living in a small space has necessitated me packing up my CDs. Now I want to transfer them to a portable listening device.... but I don't know which ones have the best sound quality. I've heard the IPOD doesn't have as strong of a sound quality.... is this only because of the headphones? How do I know which players offer the best sound? Also, when burning CDs onto the computer, do you burn them at the highest possible quality? Does this make an audible difference? Thanks for any info for this technology challenged violinist!

- Collapse -
How much $$$ do you want to spend?
Jan 6, 2011 4:37AM PST

Your question is quite the open-ended one...

- Collapse -
Cowon
Jan 6, 2011 4:35AM PST

You want the best SQ from a source device? Look no further.

- Collapse -
Cowon iAudio9
Jan 13, 2011 11:44AM PST

16gb on Amazon for about $150. The Cowon "Jet Effects" are hard to beat as far as music enhancing goes. The "MachBass" effect is perfect for bass-aholics. Enhances the bass without effecting the mids and highs.